Nov. 18
November 18, 2008
Catherine "Cat" Jacobs
November 20, 2008
Animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged a boycott Monday of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, scheduled to arrive in Houma Nov. 28-30.
Dozens of curious onlookers gawked and snapped cell phone photos of a semi-nude woman painted like a tiger and placed in a small cage on the corner of Main and Lafayette streets.
While Christina Dang, 22, spent an hour in the cage, PETA members Virginia Fort, 23, and Lindsey Rajt, 25, handed out leaflets and held a banner saying, “Wild Animals Don’t Belong Behind Bars.”
PETA hoped to dissuade locals from going to the Ringling Bros. show, “Boom-A-Ring,” when it comes to the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center next week.
The Virginia-based animal-rights group accuses the circus and its trainers of cruelty and mistreatment of the show’s animals.
“Elephants and other animals are being kept in shackles in tiny cages and are forced to perform confusing and physically challenging tricks,” said Fort, a PETA assistant campaigner.
Fort also said PETA has done undercover investigations into Ringling Bros. and obtained video footage of trainers hitting elephants with a bull hook, a long metal rod with a hook on the end, posted on circuses.com.
Ringling Bros. denied the accusations, stating they meet all government regulations and inspectors can arrive unannounced at anytime to examine the animals.
“We stand by our animal care and obviously the public also thinks our animal care is good because millions of people see our shows every year,” said Jason Gibson, a Ringling Bros. production manager. “Our animals are our bread and butter.”
Gibson claimed the PETA video was footage from many years ago repackaged to seem new.
The Boom-A-Ring show will feature three Asian elephants, six white Bengal tigers and five Dobson dogs, Gibson said.
About six Houma Police Department officers were at the scene of the boycott, but no arrest was made. They were more interested in keeping traffic moving.
The boycott got mixed reviews from locals as far as its message and effectiveness.
“I find it very humorous and a complete waste of time that they came down here,” insisted Frank Henry of Houma. “This is south Louisiana, where we all hunt and fish.”
“I think any way you want to protest without hurting anybody is the right way to protest,” said Nick Stassi, a video editor at Big Fish Production.
Nearly everyone was disappointed that Dang was not nude as advertised.
“I wanted to see some boobs,” said one unidentified woman passing by.
“I understand the message, but I thought it was going to be more controversial than what it was,” said Chauvin resident Brittney Naquin.
Despite a few taunts and car horns blowing in disapproval, the PETA members believed the boycott got its point across to locals.
“It’s a lighthearted way to bring attention to a serious issue,” Fort said. “Clearly, it’s an eye-catching demonstration, and it brings people over.”
PETA members Christina Dang, 22, of Norfolk, Va., and Lindsey Rajt, 25, publically protested next week’s arrival of the Ringling Brothers-Barnum Bailey circus. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
